The Online Learning
Revolution

Virtual learning has the potential to revolutionize
learning for many students, but legal restrictions threaten to limit this
innovative tool for Michigan’s public school students. To discuss the future of
online learning and the policies that affect it, the Mackinac Center this fall
hosted three panel events in Traverse City, Grand Rapids, and Birmingham. More
than 200 attended the panels and another 400 viewed via webcasts. Panelists
included superintendents, representatives of online learning programs and
national experts, as well as Education Policy Director Michael Van Beek. “More
schools than ever are using online learning to supplement their programs,” said
Van Beek, author of a 2011 study on virtual learning. “We
are offering a valuable service in educating the public and providing a forum
for school leaders to exchange ideas.”

The Future of Unionized
Government

Government-sector unions have been at the center of
several key legislative debates this year: enhanced emergency financial manager
powers, limits on health benefits, restrictions placed on automatic-step salary
increases — even the definition of what constitutes a public employee. Labor
experts addressed these and other issues at the Center’s Oct. 5 Issues and Ideas forum on “The Future of Unionized Government.”

The panel included David Masud, labor and employment
attorney; Tom Eaton, the main labor negotiator for Oakland County; Barbara
Ruga, one of the state’s leading experts on collective bargaining in public
education; and Paul Kersey,the
Center’s director of labor policy. The forum was attended by several
policymakers and legislative staffers. Altogether, more than 600 attended or
viewed the event via webcast.

The Future of Oil and Gas in
Michigan and the U.S

The future of the state’s and the nation’s energy
supply was the timely topic of the Nov. 9 Issues & Ideas Forum, moderated
by Senior Environmental Policy Analyst Russell Harding. Panelists included Hal
Fitch, Director of the Office of Geological Survey, and Karen Alderman Halbert,
president and CEO of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s Institute for 21st Century
Energy.

As Harding says, “Federal and state government policy is
subsidizing and mandating alternative energy, which is more expensive for
consumers and business, while failing to
deliver new jobs. Meanwhile, there is a revolution in natural gas
developments … [that] have the potential to provide significant new jobs in
Michigan.”